ABBA - I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do

What this video is

Released April 1975, this promo clip predates MTV by six years and represents a pivotal moment in the history of the music video as an international distribution tool. ABBA's management at Polar Music conceived of promotional film clips as a means of reaching geographically inconvenient markets — particularly Australia — without touring. The strategy proved transformative: when this clip aired in Australia, it…

Why it matters

Represents a foundational artifact in the pre-MTV promotional clip tradition. Hallström's work with ABBA during this period is widely credited as a direct precursor to the modern music video format, and this specific clip was among the first to demonstrate that a professionally produced promo film…

The director

Lars Sven 'Lasse' Hallström (born 2 June 1946, Stockholm, Sweden) is a Swedish film director. He began his career making short pop clips for Swedish television in the late 1960s. Between 1974 and 1982, he directed almost all of ABBA's promotional films. He…